Michael Bates: January 2026 Archives
"Not many people know this, but those hops in your favorite IPA are actually wonderful medicine for insomnia and menopause, thanks to their high phytoestrogen content. These same phytoestrogens, however, might be less desirable for men, as indicated by the common condition known among brewers as Brewer's Droop."
Also, IPAs are (mostly) just nasty. Way too bitter. Give me a stout or a Belgian quad any day.
The Rise and Fall of the American Bar Association - JONATHAN TURLEY
"Whether the ABA constitutes a true monopoly can be (and likely will be) hotly contested. What is less debatable is the value of some competition or alternatives to the ABA. The organization is a textbook example of how the lack of competition can instill not just a sense of institutional impunity but arrogance.
"For decades, the ABA has moved steadily to the left, taking on a greater level of advocacy and activism as an organization....
"However, in the last few decades, the ABA followed the same trend as higher education and the media, as activists on the left took over key positions and used the organization to advance their own social, political, and legal viewpoints. Neutrality was tossed aside in favor of advocacy."
Just 17% of lawyers are members of the ABA, but the organization and its affiliates have a chokehold in many states on law school accreditation, judicial nominations, and the practice of law.
RELATED: 2017: Oklahoma Bar Association subsidizes repressive Communist regime; 2024: Oklahoma Bar Association and the judicial nominating process; 2008: OBA pushes for changes to judicial canons.
Amelia Sans Merci - by John Carter - Postcards From Barsoom
A non-profit with UK government funding developed a game to train young people to avoid "extremist" (i.e. anti-immigration) groups. A purple-bobbed siren named Amelia, luring the game-player into pro-border demonstrations and a lower social credit core, escaped from the game and with the help of AI has become a virtual heroine of English and European nationalism. The link above is an explainer with dozens of examples of Amelia memes. Here's a Grok-generated video based on the memes. And here's a Swedish version, with an explanation of how it was made.
